The silly season has come to an end.
We all know about the trades that got done. But what about those that didn’t?
With the upcoming delisted free agency period and the pre-season draft, it’s time to go over some of the players who could be up for grabs.
Michael Barlow
Barlow is out of contract with the Dockers and it seems that if he wants his AFL career to continue, he’s going to have to move away from Western Australia.
There was little interest in Barlow during the trade period. However, it’s likely that had more to do with prospective clubs knowing they can get him for virtually nothing in the delisted free agency period.
Barlow could prove to be a good fit for North Melbourne or Richmond.
Mitch Brown
Brown is reportedly looking to return to Victoria. After ten seasons with West Coast, Brown is still yet to have played 100 games and will be looking for more opportunities.
Having just signed his twin brother Nathan, would St Kilda be interested in giving Mitch a crack?
Mitch Clark
The injury prone big man has never really had a run at it in his time at Geelong. The Cats’ patience with him appears to be running out, especially after they traded in the opportunity starved Aaron Black from the Kangaroos.
Should the Cats let him go, Clark’s only chance of being picked up is as a short-term option with the West Coast Eagles as cover for Nic Naitanui.
Matt de Boer
Having been given the tap on the shoulder by Fremantle, de Boer is considering his options. All reports suggest de Boer is a very professional footballer, who a lot of clubs are eyeing off. His strong WAFL form has also put him in a good spot to be picked up as a delisted free agent.
He is just the type of player the Suns are craving.
Andrejs Everitt
The fact Carlton continue to inject youth into their playing list certainly puts players like Everitt in jeopardy. Whether he would receive any interest as a delisted free agent is a bit of an unknown.
Having spent a significant amount of time in the VFL, is the dynamic forward’s time up?
Sam Fisher
It’s a pretty easy decision for Fisher. Will he go on with St Kilda or will he retire? Both parties seem comfortable with where things stand.
For me, Fisher goes on for one more year. Can the Saints give him a finals appearance to send him off?
Jack Grimes
The former Melbourne skipper has stated his desire to continue his career, after being delisted by the Demons. Whether another club would be willing to take a chance on him is the real question.
I don’t believe there’s a great deal of interest in him, and he will probably end up having to retire from AFL football.
Josh Green
Entering the trade period, new Lions coach Chris Fagan said the club needs to find a good pressure applying small forward.
Once that statement came out, it looked like Green’s time in Brisbane was pretty much done.
Green is more than likely to be picked up in the PSD. Essendon is rumoured to be the strong favourites here.
Ricky Henderson
The Crows defender was set to leave Adelaide as a free agent, yet for whatever reason, he was unable to find a new club. Henderson is originally from Victoria and could be hoping to return to his home state.
With so many defenders having left Collingwood, the Magpies may be interested in securing the running defender.
Angus Litherland
Another fringe Hawk who hasn’t had too many opportunities. Having only played six AFL games this year, Litherland could quite easily be looking elsewhere for more game time.
However, he may stick it out at Hawthorn, where he may receive more minutes at the top level next season, especially with Josh Gibson’s recent decline in form.
Will Minson
Big Will announced at the Bulldogs best and fairest night that his career at the kennel had come to an end. Minson still has some currency and with a couple of clubs such as Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and West Coast needing to add depth to their ruck divisions, he could continue his AFL career.
Whether one of those clubs will take a punt on the one-time All-Australian remains to be seen.
Drew Petrie
West Coast made it known that they were looking at bringing Petrie in as a short-term ruck option, with Nic Naitanui out for the season and Scott Lycett also currently coming off a knee injury. That interest may have deflated though with the acquisition of Nathan Vardy from the Cats.
Though West Coast still look likely to bring in an experienced big man for the short-term, Petrie has some strong competition from Will Minson and Mitch Clark for that spot.
Xavier Richards
After forcing his way into Sydney’s best side last season, it was somewhat of a surprise when Xavier Richards requested a trade. Yet, Richards didn’t seem to have much interest in trade week.
Whether Sydney can convince him to sign on again is uncertain. But if he was to move, he would be a good fit for Essendon.
Dean Towers
Towers found himself in the NEAFL for a lot of the year. There was some talk of interest from the Brisbane Lions in the forward during the trade period, but ultimately that didn’t become anything.
Towers will probably need to find a new club to get more game time at the top level. However, I’m not sure whether he will be picked up.
So Roarers, what are your thoughts? Are any of these players good fits for your club?
Are there other fringe players your club is likely to delist? What are their chances of getting another crack?
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